Farmers land owners etc. Allowing riders on land?

[Sandstone1]

Sorry about the long title but could not think of a better one.
Due to how busy the roads are getting and lack of bridleways has anyone approached farmers etc to allow riding on their land? I am thinking maybe a arrangement where you pay a amount to use certain areas of land. Obviously not on crops etc. Im thinking it could be a income stream for farmers and make riding a lot safer. Does anyone know of anything like this and if it works out? How insurance would work etc. Thanks

 

[Bobthecob15]

Sorry about the long title but could not think of a better one.
Due to how busy the roads are getting and lack of bridleways has anyone approached farmers etc to allow riding on their land? I am thinking maybe a arrangement where you pay a amount to use certain areas of land. Obviously not on crops etc. Im thinking it could be a income stream for farmers and make riding a lot safer. Does anyone know of anything like this and if it works out? How insurance would work etc. Thanks

Lots of people near us do it, a lot of them have no issue with it as long as they stick to the edges....usually once the fields are cut they allow the horses on the stubble too x

 

[Sealine]

There is a large local estate near me where you can pay an annual subscription of £93 to ride on the estate which also has a number of XC jumps. You are given a wide ribbon band for you horse to wear around it's neck when riding on the estate. The colour is changed every year so you have to give the old one back. Riders need to provide proof of public liability insurance.

Gaddesden Estate | Hertfordshire | Estate Horse Ride

The Gaddesden countryside is an enchanting mixture of parkland, arable and grazing interspersed with ancient woodland, much of it overlooking the lovely valley of the River Gade.

www.gaddesdenestate.co.uk

 

[Sandstone1]

Lots of people near us do it, a lot of them have no issue with it as long as they stick to the edges....usually once the fields are cut they allow the horses on the stubble too x

Thanks, I am thinking of a arrangement whereby you would pay a farmer a certain amount to ride round edges of fields etc.

 

[SDMabel]

Thanks, I am thinking of a arrangement whereby you would pay a farmer a certain amount to ride round edges of fields etc.

On paper it should work, I am allowed to ride round partners farm headlands. But the problem is when other riders spot you doing it and assume it's a free for all.

Not saying everyone half sensible would ! but you always get some that assume it's their given right to ride wherever they wish.

It's if it causes more hassle than its worth for farmer really

 

[Jambarissa]

It sounds like a good idea, but once you take money for something it makes you liable. If you've a friendly farmer you could pop round and ask, then keep supplying small gifts as a thank you if he doesn't suggest payment.

Around me they've even stopped their own liveries riding on cut fields because others see them and think they can do the same. Very sad, we have nowhere to ride. I really should move.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Sorry about the long title but could not think of a better one.
Due to how busy the roads are getting and lack of bridleways has anyone approached farmers etc to allow riding on their land? I am thinking maybe a arrangement where you pay a amount to use certain areas of land. Obviously not on crops etc. Im thinking it could be a income stream for farmers and make riding a lot safer. Does anyone know of anything like this and if it works out? How insurance would work etc. Thanks

Tried to do this with several farmers. They have all said they cant/won't let us ride on the margins as they would loose whatever subsidies they get for them. Also the insurance aspect. I've offered to pay and sign something to say its at my own risk but always a big fat No!!

 

[SEL]

They're also locking gates to fields around me due to travellers / stock theft etc

It's very frustrating

 

[HeresHoping]

As someone has said, they're likely to lose subsidies (it's a sad world when these are worth more to the farmer than the crop); and if you pay for something, liability creeps in. If your horse puts its foot down a rabbit hole and breaks its leg, even if you've signed a waiver, your insurer is going to hold the farmer responsible and his premiums will rocket.

That's why farmers who allow you to ride on the stubble, do so for free.

 

[Sandstone1]

I was thinking that if you have your own insurance it might be ok? It seems to me farmers are missing out on income. You would have to have some way of showing you had paid like a hat band or something. Also rules such as not using it in very wet weather or cantering on specific areas etc. With the roads getting ever more busy I can see in the future it may be the only way of hacking out.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I was thinking that if you have your own insurance it might be ok? It seems to me farmers are missing out on income. You would have to have some way of showing you had paid like a hat band or something. Also rules such as not using it in very wet weather or cantering on specific areas etc. With the roads getting ever more busy I can see in the future it may be the only way of hacking out.

It would be a tiny income to a farmer and not worth the hassle it would cause. You cannot rely on riders not using it in wet weather. There are always ones who will spoil it for others. Unfortunately, I feel, gaining access to any land will become impossible. Road riding will be the only way to hack out and its getting ridiculously dangerous to do that!!

 

[Cates123]

There's a big move by the BHS to open up new off-road routes for horses around the country and getting them added to the Definitive Map - https://www.bhs.org.uk/support-us/our-campaigns/project-2026/project-2026-toolkit/ .

It's a long-winded route but the aim to get more access, in fact they do lots of access work....something to consider.

 

[blitznbobs]

I own a large amount of land- i also own a lot of horses and love horses. The problem is the same as ramblers - a small number ruin it for the rest. We had a permissive path thru some woodland and it cut the corner off a much longer walk as well as being very pretty. It is now permanently shut. People made fires, people leaving A LOT of litter- equally when we had a bit of field that people could ride round gates were left open, jumps were jumped the wrong way - its just not worth the hassle.

 

[Sealine]

I keep my horse on a working farm where liveries are allowed to ride. We have a couple of huge fields with lovely grass margins that we can ride around. These fields had a few points of access directly onto either end of a bridleway and a quiet lane but the land owner has now blocked these entrances off as non-liveries were sneaking in and having a lovely canter around the fields

 

[Orangehorse]

OK, the "we will lose subsidies" is really just an excuse to say no, the main reason being frightened of possible public liability issues, plus the thought of having loads of people riding where they shouldn't. I think when asked they immediately think it is going to be the local hunt coming through. Like saying "carriage drivers" - I think 2 old ladies with a shetland, they think Wells Fargo or the Queen's carriage. The subsidies thing can be an issue, but there are ways round it if they are keen.

There are certain estates and local farmers who DO allow riders for a fee. The South Staffs Bridlepaths society organise one, which is around the £100 plus mark for a season permit. There is also one near Bristol, and I daresay there are many more local schemes. Obviously is it is much easier if it is a large estate and one landowner involved in the administration.

However, what most people would find valuable is the thought of everyday local hacking made more pleasant and safer, with a network that joins up bridlepaths, the quiet lanes, woods, etc.The longest established organisation that does this is TROT - Toll Rides Off-road Trust. They got the idea from East Anglian Farm Rides and are based in Kent and have some networks up to 20 miles long, simply doing this. Finding a route that will join up bridepaths to avoid roads. Riders pay to TROT and they pay insurance and then divide out the amount of membership fees between the farmers according to how much land they contribute.

I have been involved in setting up these rides. It isn't easy. Actually I found that most people were in favour of the idea, the hardest part was to get riders to pay reliably. They were all very keen on the idea, but so many wanted to sneak in without paying, or complain that the amount for a subscription was too high. The thing with TROT is that you paid one subscription and then you could use any of the routes, you weren't confined to just your own ride, so it could be good value.

I found that before approaching a landowner you should have certain number of riders who are keen to help support it and committed to paying before you even approach the farmers, who can see why riders would want to get off the roads as much as possible. Most of their concerns can be overcome (TROT would give you tips, if you go with them). You need someone who will be riding their often to be the sort of local organiser, and know who should be there and who not. The farmers said that they hardly ever saw anyone using the route, even when it was newly opened with many members.

For the ones I was involved with - one is still going strong, the organiser lives next to where the horsebox parking is**). One was closed after riders were off the route and were rude to the (Lady) landowner's wife so all horse access was immediately stopped. The third closed because there weren't enough riders willing to pay, and it was a really nice ride, with woodland, field edges, places for a quick canter, but you only need a few people to stop paying for whatever reason - lame horse, moving house - and it becomes unviable.

** The ORIGINAL idea of TROT was simply to improve riders' daily hacking experience, NOT to be what I call a destination ride, where you put the horse in a trailer and take it somewhere, like a Farm Ride, and spend a couple of hours there. So if there are sufficient riders, like near a livery yard, parking for a horsebox is not always necessary.

I also have to say that there are a certain number of people who are completely opposed to any Permitted riding, thinking that it should all be a right of way. I know where they are coming from - BUT people want safer riding NOW, not wait for 20 years for a new bridlepath and there are places where there is never going to be a new bridlepath and if you can get safer riding now, then go for it.

 

[MissTyc]

Our closest farmer allows it as long as we stick to the sides and buy the odd bale of haylage off him. I'd rather pay an access fee, but he'd rather sell his overpriced haylage .... It seems like a fair compromise and a neighbourly sort of deal that keeps everyone friendly ...

 

[Clodagh]

When we farmed you were not allowed to ride in the field edges, part of entry level scheme restrictions. Thankfully I’m no longer up to date with the new environmental schemes so it may have changed. But if farmers are maintaining a beetle bank or wildflower strip they probably aren’t going to want horses tromping through it.

 

[Sandstone1]

It would be a tiny income to a farmer and not worth the hassle it would cause. You cannot rely on riders not using it in wet weather. There are always ones who will spoil it for others. Unfortunately, I feel, gaining access to any land will become impossible. Road riding will be the only way to hack out and its getting ridiculously dangerous to do that!!

I do not disagree but fear the " Happy hacker" type rider will become a dying breed due to lack of safe spaces to ride.

 

[Clodagh]

I do not disagree but fear the " Happy hacker" type rider will become a dying breed due to lack of safe spaces to ride.

I don’t ride any more but I agree with you, certainly where we lived in Essex you’d be a brave person to venture out on the roads nowadays.

 

[Orangehorse]

Where there is a field margin for some purpose, all the farmer has to do is the leave a wider margin that the horses use. This was DEFRA approved.

The Trails Trust people have been working SO HARD - writing letters, meeting Ministers, MPs and DEFRA people - to try and get paid access into the new agricultural schemes, but it is like pushing the rock up a mountain.

Although I was involved in the TROT scheme, in my heart I never thought it was really a decent enough reward to the landowner, and ideally there would be Government money plus riders' money to make it a worthwhile proposition.

When the High Level permitted access scheme was in place with its 10 year agreements, the amount of money paid the farmers was really pretty generous, and they had new gates installed. There was one just next to me that I used a lot any and really missed when it closed in 2016.

I think it was £25 million paid out on these permitted access schemes with no long term public benefit at all.

 

[cauda equina]

There were some permitted access routes near me - I think they ended around 2012 - which were brilliant and made a big difference to the safety and variety of local hacking
I did hope that something similar would be reinstated after Brexit, when we were repeatedly told that farm subsidies would be 'public money for public good'

 

[daffy44]

I'm very lucky, where I live my land is surrounded by one farmers land, and I asked politely and he is happy for me to ride round the edges of all his fields except when its very wet, as he doesnt want them trashed, which is perfectly fair. He doesnt accept payment, but I do buy straw from him for my retired ponies, also we are not in a very horse heavy area, so no one really sees me riding there.

 

[Orangehorse]

Yes. Its often just a matter of knocking on someone's door and asking politely for permission. I was riding this morning on a section of field that isn't a bridlepath but the farmer lets people he knows use it.

Years ago we were able to ride through some hop yards where there was a footpath, but it was a farm track so the farmer was happy for use to take our ponies there.

I wouldn't expect to go galloping about on that sort of land though, just keep to a walk mostly.

What annoys people is people riding where they should not if they haven't asked.

 

[tda]

Tricky, round here they are all smaller landowners so very patchwork and not all routes have out access as well as in.
There is a piece of woodland just below our house, people do ride through it although there is no permitted access. They shoot there during the winter so can see why they wouldn't like people riding thru when they are growing pheasants etc, but during summer it would be nice to add another loop onto a ride

 

[humblepie]

Where my horse is we are allowed round some field edges which is brilliant and one of the selling points for the yard. There’s a wider track do the set aside is separate. There is also a permit scheme for local riders not at the yard. There’s another farm adjacent who has some tracks that would be brilliant but they are not for use unfortunately.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I'm a landowner and the insurmountable problem is always going to be insurance.

If you permit people to ride on your land, and they fall off/injure themselves and/or their horses, then YOU are held liable.

For this reason I wouldn't ever be able to open up the land to anyone else. Sadly.

 

[Orangehorse]

I'm a landowner and the insurmountable problem is always going to be insurance.

If you permit people to ride on your land, and they fall off/injure themselves and/or their horses, then YOU are held liable.

For this reason I wouldn't ever be able to open up the land to anyone else. Sadly.

Have you ever heard of this happening, i.e. someone falling off and then holding the landowner liable?

Or is it just something to scare people?

As far as I am aware, TROT has never had a case like this and they have been going for 20 years plus.

 

[Horseysheepy]

They're also locking gates to fields around me due to travellers / stock theft etc

It's very frustrating

It's very sad.

We have to lock everything, else fly tippers have a splendid time unloading their vans in our fields. Once it's in a farmer's field, the council will not get rid of it for us.

 

[Clodagh]

It's very sad.

We have to lock everything, else fly tippers have a splendid time unloading their vans in our fields. Once it's in a farmer's field, the council will not get rid of it for us.

And hare coursers. You couldn’t allow any access anywhere

 

[Sealine]

Cholsey Farm are slightly different and you pay to 'park and ride' from the farm but the riding does include quiet roads and public bridleways. I've been here a few times and the hacking is great.

Cholsey Farm Riding

Amazing Hacking The Chilterns 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' (AONB) is the perfect backdrop for you to enjoy hacking your own horse around our farm, along beautiful bridleways and quiet country lanes.

www.cholseyfarmriding.co.uk

More places like this would be great as parking is often the problem. I know of a few areas where I could hack (mainly) off road for miles and I have transport but often there is nowhere safe to park for loading/unloading horses.